Murphy Was An Optimist
by RGoodfellow64
Summary: What happened after Rick left Kate at the end of season 3's 'One Life To Lose'. This is the Epilogue, because everyone wanted to know what happened at the end of chapter 3.
1. Chapter 1

Murphy Was An Optimist

by RGoodfellow64

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Disclaimer: I'm lucky I could get out a story let alone come up with a clever way to say I don't own these characters.

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As the elevator doors slowly began to close, Castle sighed as he watched Beckett bring her phone to her ear to speak to Motorcycle boy, and when they finally closed he shook his head and thought, 'Why?' He lifted his hand but stopped short of punching the wall, not only would it hurt, but also Beckett would hear the noise, and he didn't want her to know how upset he was. However, by the time he passed the second floor on his way to the first, he hit the wall with the side of his fist and decided that although it did hurt, he also felt slightly better, if only for a moment.

'Dammit!' he thought, 'Every time…Every. Single. Time! Without fail when it seems we're making progress he manages to interrupt.' Castle took a deep breath as the elevator stopped at the first floor and the doors began to open, before stepping out he looked up and said to the Universe, "I don't know what your problem is with me, but I'm getting sick and tired of this constantly happening, and things better start changing soon!"

When he stepped out of the elevator, he put on his professional face and nodded to the desk Sergeant, who smiled and waved back, before leaving the precinct. He looked at his watch and realized that Ryan and Esposito would already be at the Old Haunt and he figured he should still make an appearance despite wanting to be alone. He sighed again as he lifted his arm and waved down a taxi.

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Kate gazed with pleasure at the wonderful photo Castle had given her, not only was it of the entire cast of Temptation Lane, but everyone on the cast had signed it "To Kate". Her eyes misted again as she thought how excited her mother would be with this photo, and she relived that wonderful memory of watching the show with her that she'd just shared with Castle...the first time she'd ever shared that with anyone. After a few minutes, her phone chirped with a text message from Josh telling her he was just a few minutes away. She sighed and started to close up for the night. She turned off the PC and pulled her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk. Then after a moment of thought, put the signed photo in the drawer where her purse had been. Josh knew nothing about her secret Temptation vice, and she didn't feel like sharing it with him.

As she made her way to the elevator, she couldn't help but think again of the look on Castle's face when Josh called. Josh had to have a sixth sense when something was happening between her and Castle, because he always seemed to call right at that exact moment. Kate smiled then as she recalled Josh telling her how it seemed to him that Castle always managed to interrupt them when something was happening. Her thoughts still on Castle, she entered the elevator, pushed the button for the first floor then leaned against the back wall. With her eyes closed, she relived once again The Kiss. Even though it was in an ally and there was a man with a gun watching, it was still the most amazing kiss she ever experienced. She quickly opened her eyes and shook her head to clear her mind. She was about to meet Josh and they would spend the rest of the night together before he went back on shift at 3am. She should not be thinking about kissing Castle. Not now, anyway.

When she walked out of the elevator, she immediately saw Josh talking to the desk Sergeant. Josh seemed to think that everyone liked him when actually just about everyone at the precinct barely put up with him. Although Kate didn't see it, according to Lanie everyone thought Josh was too full of himself and somehow managed to tick off every officer and detective he spoke to. Even Captain Montgomery didn't seem to care for him and by the look on the Sergeant's face; he wasn't making any friends here either.

In fact, the more Josh spoke to him, the more annoyed the Sergeant looked so Kate hurried to Josh and took his arm; she nodded to the Sergeant, wished him a good night and then turned to leave, pulling Josh along with her. He tried to kiss her cheek as they were walking but only managed to get a wet smudge on her makeup as they walked to the taxi Josh had waiting. After they got in Kate asked, "Where are we going?"

Josh replied, "I heard of a place that serves food and has a great old atmosphere, reminiscent of the Great Depression."

As Josh continued to talk, Kate zoned out and her mind was no longer on Josh or their evening. The mention of the Great Depression immediately brought to mind the Old Haunt and how excited Castle is to own it. Although she'll never admit it, she thinks it's sweet when he suddenly finds a period piece for the bar on e-bay and just has to immediately share it with her and ask her opinion. A small smile appeared on her face as she recalled the times she spent there with him…well with him and sometimes the boys. She was still recalling the first time they were all there with the Captain when she felt the taxi come to a stop.

Belatedly she realized Josh had been talking the entire time they'd been in the taxi but she hadn't heard a word he said. She looked around out the window as Josh paid the driver and was shocked to see they were at the Old Haunt. She turned to him and exclaimed, "Josh! What are we doing here?"

Josh smiled at her and said, "The cop at the desk told me that all the other cops hang out at this bar called the Old Haunt. I thought we'd come here."

Kate shook her head, "No. No, I don't want to go here; I just thought we'd have a quiet dinner and relax after a long day." Her mind was going a mile-a-minute trying to think of reasons why she didn't want to go in the bar without actually telling him the real reason. Castle would be there with the boys.

Josh smiled at Kate and said, "I know you do, Babe, but this is a cop bar, filled with the cops you work with and I thought it would be good for them to see how happy we are together." As she was trying to come up with a nicely worded refusal he continued, "Plus it gives me the opportunity to meet your co-workers and get to know them better. Wouldn't you like for us all to get together once in-a-while?"

Kate was still struggling to come up with a valid reason not to go inside other than the fact that no one likes him there, when he got out of the taxi and eagerly pulled her along with him. She was still trying to come up with something to say as the taxi drove away and Josh headed toward the stairs.

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Richard Castle sat at the end of the bar at the Old Haunt, nursing his scotch. He had no intention of getting drunk although he really, really wanted to, if only to forget why he was there. But it was his bar, it was one of those nights when it seemed that most of the 12th Precinct showed up and he really couldn't drown his sorrows…his mind stopped working as he suddenly realized he was starting to think like he was in a soap opera.

He shook his head and took another sip just as Jerry the bartender placed a fresh bowl of popcorn in front of him. Castle preferred to have fresh popcorn rather than peanuts because it cut down on the mess. No peanuts meant no peanut shells on the floor to slip on. As he sipped his drink he could hear Ryan in the background trying to explain to Esposito how to play darts properly, and Castle wondered again where Ryan managed to find all that patience. 'Must be because he has sisters', he thought to himself as he slowly turned the glass in front of him.

He lifted his hand, took another sip of his scotch and tried to understand what he'd done to the Universe that it treated him so badly. It was a perfect moment. It was so perfect that he couldn't even think of the proper words to describe it other than magic. Kate loved the autographed Temptation Lane photo, and when she told him the story of watching it with her mother, Rick just couldn't believe how lucky he was to be the one she opened up to about something so personal. Then naturally her stupid phone rang…and naturally it _had_ to be her stupid boyfriend…and naturally the wonderful moment ended and he found himself spending the evening with the boys when he'd much rather be with the girl.

He looked over his shoulder, saw Ryan once again patiently explaining to Esposito how to total the score, and had to smile when Esposito winked at him as Ryan looked at the board. He chuckled to himself and was glad he came, even if Ka…even if Beckett was probably out with Motorcycle boy by now. Although part of him was unhappy that he was just with the guys, he was mostly glad he had them to help keep him from getting too maudlin over the stupid call and stupid boyfriend and the seemingly stupid Universe.

A few minutes later he was assured the Universe seriously had it in for him when he heard a voice say, "Castle? What are you doing at a cop bar?"

Really? In his own bar? Rick turned around and looked at the author of his new misfortune and said, "Hey, Demming. How's it going?" He was inordinately proud that he'd managed to keep from calling the detective 'Schlemming' when he spoke.

Tom Demming waved to a couple of officers he knew before he turned back to Castle. "I haven't seen you here before, Castle. Did you hear about the half price drinks that members of the 12th get?" Demming spoke with a smirk.

Castle could have really done without Demming showing up. The last time he saw Demming, he was making plans for the Memorial Day Weekend at the beach with Beckett. Castle still felt hurt that she'd lied and said she had to work when she was really going away for the weekend with Demming.

Tom couldn't believe that Castle was sitting at the bar. Of all the people he didn't want to see, it was Castle. Tom had come to the Old Haunt to meet with and enjoy an hour or so with his girlfriend, and really wasn't happy to see Castle there. For one, he was sure that Castle was the reason why Kate broke things off with him just before they were going to go away for the Memorial Day weekend last year. The second reason was his girlfriend, Lisa, although a very smart and ambitious woman and rising Assistant District Attorney, had a flaw that Demming just couldn't seem to fix. She was a major fan of Richard Castle and once she found out that Tom worked at the 12th Precinct, she had been asking Tom to get Castle to sign her Nikki Heat books. After what happened with Kate, Tom didn't want Lisa anywhere near Castle at all, and here he was, sitting at the bar at the Old Haunt and Lisa was due to arrive any time now.

Castle couldn't believe it. Not only did Motorcycle boy manage to ruin his time with Beckett, now he couldn't even stew over that as her ex had to show up. At his bar. On a night when he really didn't want to be there in the first place. The Universe must really hate him, he thought as Demming ordered a drink from the bartender.

Castle was about to respond to Demming's question when Esposito walked up, "Hey, Demming! Nice to see you man."

Demming smiled and said, "Good to see you too, Esposito. I was just wondering what Castle was doing at a cop bar."

Esposito shook his head, "Cop bar? Tom, this isn't just a cop bar, it's…" he stopped as he saw two figures open the door and stand at the entrance, looking around the bar. Castle noticed his abrupt halt, followed his gaze and mumbled, "Just great. Motorcycle boy, just what I need."

Demming didn't quite hear what Castle said but he did hear Esposito say, "Oh great, Motorcycle boy is here," in as disgusted tone as Demming ever heard.

Demming turned around to see what suddenly bothered Castle and Esposito and saw Kate standing at the door with a tall man by her side, his arm around her shoulder. "Who's that with Kate?" he asked.

"Motorcycle boy," Castle and Esposito said at the same time, with the same level of disgust in their voice.

"Who's Motorcycle boy?"

"Her boyfriend," Castle replied just as Ryan walked up and asked what was going on. Looking in the same direction as the other men he said, "Oh great, Motorcycle boy had to show up and ruin things."

Demming meanwhile turned back to Castle and asked, "Her boyfriend? I thought she broke up with me to be with you?"

Castle was too busy trying to look anywhere but at the couple at the door when he suddenly realized what Demming said. "Wait, _she_ broke up with you?" When Demming nodded yes, Castle asked, "Why did you think she broke up with you for me when she's with him?"

"Right before we were going to leave for the beach she broke up with me. Told me I wasn't what she was looking for just then or something like that."

"You didn't go to the beach?" Castle asked, still confused.

Demming looked back at Kate and Motorcycle boy and said, "Of course we didn't go. She broke things off with me and then left to go to your party."

Castle shook his head and said, "Well, she sure didn't leave you to be with me, looks like she wanted to be with him."

Ryan was about to respond and tell Castle what really happened that afternoon when Esposito nudged him in the ribs.

Demming was looking at the couple and it seemed there was an argument going on between them. "Does his hair look like it needs to be washed to you guys?" he asked in an aside voice as he continued to watch the two at the door. After another minute, they both headed towards the bar and the four men there.

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Every step down the stairs she took felt to Kate like a walk to the guillotine. She knew Esposito and Ryan were inside the bar and that they made no bones over the fact that they didn't care for Josh, although they attempted to be polite whenever they saw him, she could tell it was just for show. That was one of the reasons why she tried to keep him from coming to the precinct any more. She still didn't understand how she could have missed it when he told her he was bringing her to the Old Haunt. She really had to stop tuning him out all the time, but lately it seemed the easiest way to be with him.

When the door opened and they stepped inside, Josh smiled. He turned to Kate and said, "Wow, isn't this a great place? Look, there's a man playing an old time piano! It's just like Casablanca."

As he continued to talk about what he saw in the bar, Kate couldn't help but be reminded of Castle's enthusiasm and his childlike glee in owning the bar and bringing it back to its former glory. As she was thinking of Castle, Josh suddenly stopped talking and when she looked at him he had a scowl on his face. "What's _he_ doing here?" he growled in an angry tone.

Kate turned to the direction Josh was looking and saw Castle seated at the bar with three men standing by him. Two were Esposito and Ryan and they were all looking in her direction. Kate immediately noticed that although Esposito and Ryan had pained looks on their faces, Castle seemed to have developed a stone visage and she could see nothing at all on his face. His eyes, however, seemed to not have their friendly twinkle that she was used to seeing. When the third man turned around and she saw it was Tom Demming, she suddenly wished that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. This had to be a bad dream.

"Kate? What is _he_ doing here?" Josh asked again.

"Castle?"

"Yes, Castle!"

Kate shrugged her shoulders and said, "The boys invited him here for a drink after the case."

"You couldn't have told me that before we got here?" Josh growled. Kate glared back and replied, "Why do you think I was trying to avoid coming here?" He shook his head and said, "Well at least Ryan and…what's the other guy's name again?"

"Esposito."

"Yeah. Well at least there are two friendly faces here. Come on, they're all watching us. We'll go over, say a quick hello then get to a table as fast as possible."

Josh took Kate's hand and they walked to the end of the bar, she noticed Tom turn around and say something to Castle and the boys before turning back to watch as she walked towards them. Whatever it was he said managed to get a smile out of Ryan and Esposito and a snort out of Castle.

Josh came up to the bar, keeping Kate close to him, looked at Ryan and Esposito and said, "Hi boys, long time no see, huh?"

Castle heard Esposito mumble, "Not long enough," before he and Ryan said, "Hey Josh," and nodded to Beckett.

Josh then looked at Rick and said in a monotone, "Castle." Rick gave a small smile, nodded his head then turned back to his scotch. Esposito meanwhile had a glint in his eye and a grin on his face when he said, "Josh, you haven't met Tom, have you?"

Josh said he hadn't and Esposito saw the look of dread in Kate's eyes as he said, "Well then, Tom, this is Josh Davidson, _Doctor_ Josh Davidson, Beckett's boyfriend." Josh stood a little straighter and smiled at Esposito before he put his hand out to Demming. Meanwhile Esposito continued with the introduction, "Josh, this is Detective Tom Demming, Beckett's _ex_-boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend?" Josh asked in surprise looking at Kate with his hand still outstretched. As Ryan closed his eyes, Esposito grinned and Castle downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, Kate nodded her head slowly and wished once again that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

"Josh, huh?" Demming said as he shook the man's hand. "So you're the guy she broke up with me for." Kate couldn't be more embarrassed, here was her current boyfriend, talking to her ex-boyfriend all while right beside Castle, the person she really she ended things with Demming for…and still held strong feelings for, that she found herself often failing to suppress. Things couldn't get more screwed up, could they?

Josh had a confused look on his face, "Excuse me, what did you say?" Kate felt like running away into the ladies room and Esposito and Ryan had huge grins on their faces. At least Castle was keeping out of things, just staring at the glass in his hand. Kate gave serious thought to grabbing Josh and running away when Tom spoke.

"Last year, Kate and I met on a case and started dating," he turned and nodded towards Castle, "after I knew I wouldn't be stepping in on someone's territory."

Kate looked at Tom with surprise, 'Territory?' she thought. 'I'm territory?' Her anger to that statement almost made her forget the humiliation she was facing.

Josh meanwhile replied, "Who, Castle?"

Tom nodded his head, "Yeah, they seemed pretty tight but he assured me nothing was going on between them so I asked her out and she accepted."

"So you broke up after the summer?" Josh asked. Kate noticed that Esposito's grin got even wider and she seriously thought of throwing the bowl of popcorn at him.

Now, however, Tom looked confused, "No, it was just before Memorial Day weekend. I'd made plans for us to spend the weekend at a romantic beach cottage and managed to get reservations at one of the best restaurants in the area when Kate suddenly broke up with me just before we were about to leave." He shook his head and added, "She'd even brought her suitcase to work that day so we could leave early, but obviously she wanted to spend time with you."

Kate was speechless, everything she never wanted to have seen the light of day was pouring out like Niagara Falls, and she noticed that Castle looked up when Tom described how she broke up with him. The look in Castle's eyes almost made her turn away; there was so much hurt and confusion there.

Josh still looked confused but there was something else in his eyes too. "Memorial day?" he asked, looking at Kate. He then turned to Tom as he said, "Yeah, I figured she broke up with me to be with him," and he pointed to Castle with his thumb. "But clearly she's with you."

Josh turned back to Kate and said, "Memorial day? You broke up with him on Memorial day?" He then turned back to Tom and said, "We only started dating in September. From the way she acted and some things she said, I thought she'd recently ended a serious relationship. But it was in May?" He turned to Kate and asked, "If you broke up with him in May, why were you so upset in September?"

Kate stared at Josh but couldn't think of anything to say. What could she tell him, that Castle came back and opened up all the doors in her heart that she had locked over the summer? That he was still with Gina then and she wanted to show him that somebody wanted her? Should she tell Josh that Castle still held more of her than he ever did…or would? The internal dialog continued in her head and it finally came down to this, despite Josh's jealousy over Castle, and despite her feelings for Castle, Josh stayed with her rather than go to Haiti, and he was really trying to make things work with them by backing off at the hospital and refusing extra shifts. He was making an effort and Kate felt that he deserved that she should too.

Even though it felt like hours, mere seconds went by when Kate saw Castle raise his hand and the bartender come over. He nodded to Castle and picked up his empty glass, then he looked at Kate and said, "Good evening Detective." Still reeling from the conversation Josh and Tom had, Kate simply nodded her head and said, "Hi, Jerry."

Jerry looked closely at her for a moment and just as Josh was going to ask his question again said, "Uh oh, looks like a vodka night for you Detective."

"Definitely!" Kate replied as Jerry turned away to get their drinks.

"Vodka night?" Josh asked.

Looking around Kate said, "Let's find a table Josh." He looked at her waiting for an answer to both of his questions while Kate looked around and saw that there were no tables free. Great.

"Castle's booth is still free, Beckett. We can move here to the bar and you and Josh can have that," Ryan said.

Kate nodded her head and was about to thank him when both Josh and Tom said, "Castle's booth?"

"He has his own booth here, Kate?" Josh asked with a growing hint of anger in his voice.

"Sure," Esposito replied. "It's his bar, so it goes without saying he has his own booth."

"It's _his_ bar?" Demming asked in shock.

"That's why the 12th gets drinks half price," Ryan said. "And _we_ don't pay at all!" Esposito added.

The expression on Josh's face told Kate that this was going to be a very long night. Tom gaped at Castle just as Jerry returned with the shots of scotch and vodka. Both Castle and Beckett immediately reached for their glass and at the same time quickly downed the drinks in one gulp.

They put their glasses down at the same moment and said in unison, "Another, Jerry." Beckett added, "And keep them coming."

"Kate…" Castle heard Josh start to speak and he knew he had to put a stop to everything. Although he learned some things tonight that bothered him, some that made him feel the pain of last spring again; he also saw that Kate was embarrassed. Actually embarrassed seemed too mild a word, mortified seemed to fit and his author's mind was happy with that.

However awkward or sad he felt, his feelings for Kate wouldn't let this go on and maybe because he'd had a few drinks he finally spoke up. "Guys!" When he had everyone's attention he said, "Jerry, keep the drinks coming, Detective Beckett can have my booth for the night." He turned to Tom and Josh and said, "Kate and I are partners and friends, and she can date who she wants, when she wants and it's _nobody's_ business but hers!" He gave a stern look at Ryan and Esposito when he said that.

He turned back to Beckett and said, "Kate, Josh, I hope you have a good evening." He turned to Demming and said, "Nice to see you again Tom, enjoy your night." He then nodded to Ryan and Esposito and got up from his stool. "I'll be in my office if you need me, Jerry," he said as he picked up his bowl of popcorn.

As Castle turned to leave, Kate tied to tell him through her eyes how much she appreciated his standing up for her, but he never looked her way. She took a breath to prepare herself for whatever the evening would bring, then grabbed Josh's hand and started to walk towards Castle's private booth. "You two have a nice night," Ryan said to them as they passed.

Josh nodded and said, "See you around Ryan and Piscopo," then nodded to Demming, "Ron."

Castle heard Kate say, "His name is Tom," before they disappeared into the crowd. Esposito watched them as they left and said, "Man, what a jerk." Ryan added, "I have no idea why she stays with him." Tom looked at them both and said, "She chose _him_ over me? Hell, even Castle here is better than him." Ryan nodded in agreement, as Castle just shook his head. He turned around as Jerry brought him another scotch saying, "Here you go boss, and leave the bowl, I'll send a fresh one down to you."

Castle nodded his head in thanks, turned to Demming and the boys and said, "Night guys." He'd taken about five steps away when Demming called out, "You own a cop bar, Castle?"

Castle kept walking and only waved his free hand at Demming but just before he reached the end of the bar, a woman's voice cried out from the entrance, "Oh my God! You're Richard Castle!"

Tom looked up and saw his girlfriend Lisa staring at Castle. "Oh crap!" he said, "I really don't like that guy."

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**AUTHORS NOTE: I am experiencing the worst case of writers block in the history of writers block. It doesn't even comply with the definition of writers block any more; I am experiencing writers Hoover Dam, or Aswan Dam, whichever is larger.**

**I have so many snippets, some mere sentences, others paragraphs and conversations that start and go nowhere and this was one of them. I wrote the part where Castle is in the bar and Demming shows up and that was it for about two months when suddenly there was a crack in the dam and the rest came out. Btw, the working title for this story was "The enemy of my enemy isn't necessarily my friend…especially **_**that **_** guy!" It's a tad too long for FF, plus I always prefer to use Finnigans Law when describing how things work. Finnigans Law says that when Murphy stated that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong at the worst possible time, he was an optimist. Thus the title. I think both Castle and Beckett would agree that Muprhy was indeed an optimist in this story.**


	2. Chapter 2

Murphy Was An Optimist

by RGoodfellow64

Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: See chapter one if you're really interested.

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Kate walked to the back of the bar, nodding to the officers and detectives, she knew on her way, her hand still holding Josh's and pulling him along with her. She could feel the waves of confusion and anger rolling off Josh and she steeled herself for another one of his 'jealously jams' as Lanie called them.

On a few of the faces she passed, she could see confusion. She inwardly sighed as she realized they were officers who had no idea who Josh was, and were part of that group who thought she and Castle were together. Probably more fodder for Josh to be upset over.

As they arrived at the booth, Kate could feel Josh tense up as he saw the sign on the wall above the table, 'Reserved for owner and special friends'. She just knew he'd remark on the 'special' part, it seemed to be what they spoke about most, lately.

Kate sat down in the booth at the end of the seat, facing the rear wall. Since she didn't move further into the seat, Josh had to sit across from her. As she placed her purse beside her, Kate could hear over the background conversations a distinct female voice cry out, "Oh my God! You're Richard Castle!"

A brief look of annoyance came over her face as she heard that, and of course, Josh noticed and said, "He's just a hack writer for crying out loud!"

Kate's immediate response was to defend Castle but before she could say anything, a waitress arrived with another shot for Kate and two menu's. "Hey Detective, Jerry says it's a vodka night so here ya go." She then turned to Josh and asked, "What can I get you, sir?"

Josh stared at the shot in front of Kate; his desire to know just how everyone knew so much about his girlfriend fueled his frustration and anger. He was concentrating so much on the glass that to get his attention the waitress had to ask a second time if he wanted anything. He looked up in confusion as he realized he didn't quite catch what she said.

"He'll have a beer, Mony," Kate spoke. Josh nodded his head and said, "Whatever's on tap," then looked back at the shot glass in front of Kate.

As the waitress walked away, Josh looked at Kate and asked, "You know her name?"

Kate held back a sigh and thought that the best way to handle the evening was to be Detective Beckett and not Kate, so she looked in Josh's eyes and said, "Yes I do."

Josh smirked and said in a dismissive tone, "What kind of name is 'Mony' anyway?"

Just at that moment, Mony came back with a tall, frosted glass of beer and placed it in front of Josh. She had seen that the situation at the booth was far from amicable and rushed to get the beer. "My name is Mona," she said as she placed a napkin by the glass. "My friends all call me Mony after the song."

"Song?" Josh asked.

"Mony, Mony," Kate said, trying to diffuse the situation. Unfortunately Mony added, "Yeah, the boss only likes the original version by Tommy James but Detective Beckett prefers Billy Idol." She shrugged her shoulders and added, "So they compromised, both versions play in the background." She smiled at Kate and said, "We all think it's a hoot that your compromise was 60/40 and the boss getting the 40."

Someone called out Mony's name from another booth and she quickly turned to leave, "Just call out if you need anything Detective," she said and then left them alone. Kate looked at Josh and saw his brow darken as he realized that this reaction from the staff meant Kate had been here a lot.

Kate was thinking about other evenings with Josh, the arguments that ensued and it suddenly seemed like a bulb turned on in her head. Josh stayed for her; he stopped his Doctors Without Borders missions and did manage to trim a few hours off his work schedules, but was that enough? When he canceled his trip to Haiti and was there when she and Castle came out of the freezer, she felt he deserved another chance, but honestly, was it really worth it anymore?

She thought about all the arguments they had over her schedule, over the calls she received at all hours and there was never a peep or complaint out of him when the hospital called. She began to think that she was a second class citizen in this relationship, if you could even call it that anymore, because almost every argument centered around one main theme…Richard Castle.

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Rick turned to the woman standing at the bottom of the stairs and realized that no matter how low he felt, she was a fan and deserved his attention. He put his best 'professional' smile in place and put out his empty hand, "Yes, I'm Rick Castle…and you are?"

The woman put out her hand and when she touched his she seemed to quiver as she began to hyperventilate, "Yes. You really are! I mean, I'm really glad…you know I love your…Oh my God, I can't believe you're here… I…"

For a second Castle's mind brought him back to a few months before when he and Ka…Beckett met with Joe Torre. He smiled as he recalled the way Beckett turned into an incoherent fan and that smile evidently was enough to help calm the woman who now had a vice like grip on his hand.

"Oooo, looks like Castle has a fan," Ryan said as they heard the woman squeal at the other end of the bar. Demming quickly got up from his seat at the bar and tried to run to Lisa and Castle, weaving in between, and quietly swearing at the people standing in his way. Esposito looked at Ryan and said, "Bro, this is better than courtside seats at the Nets!" Ryan shook his head and said, "I don't know Javi, I gotta bad feeling about tonight."

Esposito waved away his concerns and watched as Demming made his way to the front door where Castle was shaking his girlfriend's hand. 'Oh crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!' Tom thought as he finally made his way around the last couple standing between him and his date. "Gotta stop this quick," he mumbled to himself as he put his hand on her arm and said, "Lisa, you made it!"

Lisa just stood there, a huge smile on her face, shaking Castle's arm as if she was going to pull it off him.

'Crap!'

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"Why are Castle and your team here anyway?" Josh asked anger still in his voice.

"They're celebrating," Kate responded.

"Why would he be asked to join in a celebration?" Josh asked in exasperation. "He's just a hack writer!"

Kate shook her head, reigned in her tart reply and instead told Josh all about the murder on Temptation Lane. "Isn't that one of those trashy soap operas?" he asked.

"Trashy?" Kate asked in a frigid voice.

"It's a stupid soap opera, Kate, they're all trash. Intelligent people never watch that stuff."

Kate pulled her lips between her teeth, silently counting to ten and then to twenty. She did not want this night to get any worse and just wanted to finish their drinks and then get out.

Josh lifted up his glass and took a sip; he put it down and said in a snarky voice, "I suppose since you get drinks for free I won't have to pay for this, huh?"

Kate took a deep breath and closed her eyes, thinking once again all the times she threatened to shoot Castle and how lately she only wanted to shoot Josh. Before she could respond, he continued with a smirk, "Leave it to Castle to own a bar and offer cheap drinks to the cops so he can buy his way into everyone's good graces." He paused a moment and said, "Look at all these cops in here tonight getting drunk on cheap booze." His words, tone and demeanor showed his complete lack of respect for the police.

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Lisa didn't even realize Tom was there, she kept staring at Castle with a silly grin on her face and squeezing his hand as if she never planned to let it go.

Demming leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Hey, honey, glad you made it," he said, but it wasn't until Castle tried to extricate his hand that she even noticed Demming was there.

"Oh! Tom! Look, Richard Castle!" she gushed.

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Kate was still digesting what Josh said. She wanted to leave soon and had already finished her drink but Josh was only taking sips of his beer.

"So, an ex-boyfriend, huh?" he suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm sure it won't come as a surprise to you Josh, but I have dated other men before I met you."

"That's not what I mean and you know it, Kate. It just seems odd to me that not only does Castle own this bar, but your old boyfriend…" he paused and thought a moment, "Tom, you said, right?"

Kate controlled the eye roll she felt coming on and said, "Yeah, Tom."

Josh shook his head, "I thought Piscopo said Ron."

With an exasperated sigh Kate said, "Esposito! His name is Esposito." Josh looked as if he was going to respond when Kate added, "You know Josh, for someone who claims they want to know and be friends with the people I work with, you don't try very hard to remember their names."

Josh leaned forward and said in an angry tone, "Don't turn this on me, Kate. All I wanted to do was take you out somewhere nice. I never expected to run into your so called partner and an ex-boyfriend!"

Now Kate's anger came to the surface, "Really Josh? Then how come when I told you I didn't want to come here you practically dragged me out of the cab?"

Josh opened his mouth to respond but Kate put up her hand and said, "Then you specifically said you wanted the people I work with to see me with you, and why would that be? Maybe because they know I work with Castle and see me with him so you had to make sure to stake your claim?"

Josh sat back; shocked that Kate would go there. The fact that she pretty much called it as it was surprised him even more and it showed on his face because Kate said, "Did you forget that I'm a detective Josh? Of course I realized why you wanted to come here immediately after the cab left."

Josh leaned forward again and said in an angry voice, "Don't think I didn't notice the looks we got as we walked to the booth, Kate. I saw the confusion on the faces of some of the people you work with!" He straightened up in the booth and added, "Even the waitress and bartender! They were surprised to see you with me. Even they think there's something going on between you and your so-called partner!" He practically snarled the last words before he realized that Kate's expression had frozen into one he'd never seen before. He saw that her lips were compressed and her eyes had narrowed. He realized she was beyond angry and thought over what he said to cause that; then he realized he'd pretty much accused her of cheating on him. He opened his mouth to say something; anything that would defuse the situation but she held up her hand and he closed his mouth and waited for her to respond.

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Rick finally managed to remove his hand and turned to Demming, "So Tom, you know this lovely lady?"

Tom watched the smile on his girlfriend's face become even brighter at Castle's words. He knew she was a fan but never realized just how big a fan she actually was. "Yes I do," he replied. "Rick Castle, this is my girlfriend, Lisa Teel. Lisa, Rick Castle."

Before Rick could say a word, Lisa grabbed his hand again and started shaking it so violently that he spilled some of his drink. ""Oh I am so glad to meet you!" she squealed. "I'm your biggest fan!"

'She's actually squealing!' Demming thought to himself. 'Crap!'

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Kate looked down at the table and digested what Josh said, then went replayed in her mind all that happened this evening, not just with Josh but the time before at the precinct with Castle, and that brought up reminders of other evenings after work. Josh watched her and saw that she was really thinking through some things, the crease between her eyes alone showed him that. 'Finally', he thought, finally, what he said actually got through to her and she was thinking about all the times her partnership, as she calls it, with Castle interfered with their plans. How often he came between them and how many times they had conversations regarding her job and her arrangement with Castle. He just wished he hadn't said those last words to her, but dammit he was angry and tired of Castle always being around.

After a few minutes, Kate's eyes looked up at Josh and she quietly said, "Have you noticed how often we fight lately? Not just when we get together but even on the phone." She paused a moment as Josh looked at her in confusion then added, "Now that I think about it, we spend most of our time arguing."

"What?"

"Not always," Kate continued as if he hadn't spoken, "but we argue more often than not, and I'm beginning to realize that lately, almost every time we have sex I'm initiating it just to stop having to argue with you."

"What?" Josh's loud response drew the attention of the officers at the nearby booths.

Kate waved her hand to let the officers know it was ok and they turned back to their own interests as Kate continued, "We argue, I end it by having sex with you, then you go back to your apartment to get ready for your next shift and I take a shower." Kate shook her head in disbelief as she finally spoke what had been in her mind for a while.

As Josh looked at her in shock and growing anger, Kate continued to think about their relationship, or rather lack of one and said, "Oh my God, we don't have a relationship, all we've got is a series of arguments that end in booty calls!" As her eyes widened at the realization, she said, more to herself but loud enough for Josh to hear, "When did I become that kind of woman anyway?"

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Rick managed to get his hand back again and Lisa turned to Demming and asked, "Tom, you mentioned that you've seen Mr. Castle around the precinct. Do you know each other?"

"Please, call me Rick," Castle said.

Lisa squealed again and Demming thought 'Please call me Rick…bleach!' before he said, "Castle and I have met before," and he looked at Castle as if to say do not embellish anything.

Castle turned to Lisa and said, "I actually met Tom when the team of Detectives I work with had a case that overlapped with Robbery about a year ago."

Lisa turned to Demming and said, "Tom! You never told me that you worked with Rick! That must have been so exciting!"

Before Demming could reply Castle said, "Yes, it was interesting and we learned how the Robbery division does things." Demming knew that Castle was talking about his brief relationship with Kate, but luckily, Lisa didn't know that.

"Actually," Castle continued with a smile, "I started to write a character based on Tom here for one of my books."

Lisa squealed again, "Really?"

Castle looked at Tom and back to Lisa, "Oh yes, really," he shrugged his shoulders and added, "Unfortunately the character didn't pan out for the storyline, but you never know, I may still use him for a future book."

"That's so exciting!" Lisa exclaimed.

Demming gave a weak smile, 'Crap!'

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Kate looked at Josh, really looked at him. She used her detective skills and carefully looked over the man in front of her. She liked what she saw. He was good looking; he had almost a pretty boy look about him but managed to cover that up with the bad boy look he perfected. Her thoughts stopped at that point and she went over that last phrase, 'something he perfected'. Something he covered up. The look, the bad boy, was really just a persona he wore, like his scrubs. She watched as he picked up his beer and took a sip, his eyes firmly set on the glass. Not looking at her. Still angry. Still…she mentally shook her head. She jumped into this rebound of a relationship without any real knowledge of the man and she just realized how much she didn't like about him. True, he was pretty, but that certainly wasn't all that she wanted for herself. Life was more than just being pretty.

A memory came to her, "I never told you much about my parents, have I, Josh," she said.

His eyes looked up to her and he shook his head no.

Kate's face transformed in front of him and he was reminded how beautiful she was, the softness that enveloped her even took away some of his anger. "My parents had a great relationship, Josh. True they had their moments when one was upset with the other, and there were arguments, but nothing that took away from the love they felt for each other. No matter what happened, no matter how angry or upset they would be, they always loved each other more."

Josh couldn't speak if he wanted to. Watching Kate talk about her parents, something that she never did before, felt almost fragile. He always wanted to know more about her and he knew that she didn't like to talk about herself, so anything he said or did could easily end the moment. He sat still and waited for more.

A soft smile just added to her beauty as she said, "My dad would do goofy things," she chuckled. "To this day when I see a sign that says 'Stop Ahead' I can hear his voice saying, 'I don't see a head running around anywhere, Katie, do you?' and then he'd look all around as if a head would come running out into the street." Kate shook her head, "My mom would roll her eyes and act like she was embarrassed, but she loved it."

Kate paused and then said in a voice that sounded almost surprised, "They laughed a lot. They would be silly with each other and he made my mom giggle. I used to love her giggle; Dad says I sound like her when _I_ giggle."

Her face changed, the softness left and she looked into Josh's eyes when she added, "When was the last time we laughed, Josh? It's been so long that I can't even remember."

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Tom took Lisa's arm, "I think we should let Rick get back to what he was doing, I'm sure he has plenty to do, owning the bar and all."

"You own the Old Haunt?" Lisa asked. At Rick's nod she said, "I've heard so much about this place from Tom, you must be very proud of it."

"Yes, I am," Castle started to reply when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He waved over the waitress and when she arrived he said, "That table over there is about to be free, Mony, please hold it for Tom and Lisa."

"Sure thing, boss," she replied then nodded to Lisa and turned back to the table in question.

"I'm sure you and Tom would rather sit at a table than stand at the bar," Rick said.

"Thank you," Demming mumbled while Lisa gushed, "That is so sweet of you! Thank you so much!"

Castle dipped his head, "It was a pleasure to meet you Lisa." He turned to Demming and said, "Nice to see you again Tom." As he started to back away from the couple Lisa exclaimed, "I wish I brought a book with me. If I'd known you'd be here I would have asked you to sign it for me."

Castle smiled and replied, "Just have Tom bring any books to the precinct whenever you want and I'll be happy to sign them all for you."

"Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Lisa exclaimed. Tom tried to grin, as the last thing he wanted was to visit homicide and have Castle sign his girlfriend's books. His ego was big enough, he thought.

Castle nodded towards the interior of the bar and said, "Your table is ready, I hope you have a wonderful evening." He turned away and walked behind the bar, opened the door in the floor and descended to his office.

Lisa grabbed hold of Tom's arm as they walked to their table. The table held especially for them by Richard Castle himself! She was so excited she squeezed Tom's arm and could hardly contain another squeal of happiness.

Demming gritted his teeth and forced himself to smile at the waitress before he thanked her for getting the table ready for them. It wasn't her fault that Castle was here tonight, or that Lisa was a huge fan, or that Tom really, really didn't like the man.

As they sat down Lisa kept talking about meeting Richard Castle, and about how all her friends were going to be so jealous of her. Tom just smiled and nodded at the proper times while she spoke and wished he'd made plans to meet her anywhere else than the Old Haunt.

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Josh felt the change in Kate. His anger was gone in an instant as something icy; something cold and foreign took its place. It felt as if his stomach was falling as she continued, "When we get together its pretty much arguments, unless it's a quick bite to eat, a quickie in bed and then gone again. Sex is supposed to be loving, carefree even. My mom told me you should be able to talk and laugh and love each other but it's never been like that with us, and for the longest time it's just been about relieving stress."

Josh shook his head, he opened his mouth but she kept on speaking, "That was my relationship with Will. Pretty much the entire time we were together we hardly laughed at all. There was no joy in the relationship, there was no…no giggling." Her eyes narrowed and she looked over his shoulder at the photos on the wall behind him, one of which was a young Rick Castle, "I like to giggle. I like to laugh and I love to smile."

She looked back at Josh and her face was nothing like he'd ever seen before. There was no longer any softness, any happy emotion. It was a cold face. A hard face. "I don't smile when I'm with you, Josh. I haven't for a long time."

The anger came back, "I suppose you smile with Castle," he growled.

The coldness in her eyes suddenly disappeared, he could tell that she was remembering things, going over things in her mind and suddenly she smiled…a smile he never recalled ever having seen on her before, "Yeah. As a matter of fact he does make me smile. He makes me smile a lot."

"Kate…"

"Tonight opened my eyes, Josh. So much. From the angry look on Sgt. Edwards face, to your trying to show me off to my fellow officers, to your anger at Castle owning a bar. To…" she paused a moment and said, "Damn, pretty much everything in our so called relationship over the past months."

"What are you saying, Kate."

"I think…no, I _know_ that I want to pick up where I left off last spring."

"And what was that?" Josh asked.

"An invitation…and a possibility," she paused and softly added, "A chance."

"A chance at what, Kate?"

"At what my parents had." Kate reached to her side and picked up her purse. "You're a nice guy, Josh, just not the guy for me." She reached out her right arm, in the unmistakable sign for shaking hands. When he didn't respond she pulled her arm back and said, "Have a nice life, Josh." Then slid out of the booth and walked back towards the bar, the past left behind, the future, hopefully her future, was sitting in an office under the bar.

Before Josh could respond, she was gone. He looked at his beer, and then looked where Kate had sat moments before, looked at his surroundings and wished he'd never heard of this place.

Kate walked with a purpose to the end of the bar, as she walked by Esposito he called our, "Hey Beckett! How're things with Motorcy…" He never finished as she waved her hand and said, "Not now, Javi," and continued walking.

Ryan looked at his partner and said, "She called you Javi." Esposito replied, "Yeah, she hardly ever does that." Then they both simply watched as Kate made her way to the end of the bar, following exactly where Castle had gone earlier.

When she arrived near the stairs by the entrance, she turned and entered the bar area and headed towards the door to the basement. The two men behind the bar watched her open the door to the boss's office, but before she entered, Kate looked up and said, "Unless there's a fire, Jerry, we don't want to be disturbed." At the look she gave him, he simply nodded his head, and both men watched as she took a deep breath, started down the stairs and quietly closed the door behind her.

Ed, the other man who was tending bar that night, turned to Jerry and asked, "What about the boss's popcorn?"

"You heard the Detective, do not disturb."

Ed nodded his head, "Gotcha," he said then turned back to attend the bar.

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"I think it's so neat that you work with Richard Castle," Lisa said to Tom for the eight or ninth time, he'd lost count of how many times she'd said that.

"Yeah," Tom replied as he gritted his teeth. "He's really swell."

Lisa nodded and said, "We have to find a box tonight for my books so you can bring them in tomorrow. I can't believe he's going to sign every one for me! Isn't that sweet?" Lisa said with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Yeah, really sweet," Tom managed to get out, while his mind kept replaying the same phrase over and over again… 'I really don't like that guy!'

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**AUTHORS NOTE: I think it was only about 20 seconds after I posted the first chapter that people started asking for a second. Since this is AU, I decided to take it where I would want it to go, and not follow the show, so in my universe, Kate dumps DMB before being shot. **

**There have been so many stories where Kate breaks up with DMB to be with Castle but for what I think are the wrong reasons, such as Josh cheats on her or Josh goes away on another DWB tour. Josh sees that Kate really loves Castle and bows out of the picture, and so on. In all these scenarios, Josh leaves or does something to end the relationship, or cause Kate to end it. He in essence makes the decision for her; at no time does she look at Josh and Castle and say to herself, 'What the heck am I doing with this guy? I should be with Rick!' Well, in this chapter, she did. **

**Certain friends are mentioned here…teel, I figured this is how you'd behave if Nathan Fillion popped up in front of you, heck, I'm surprised Tycho and Nathanfan didn't faint when they met him…and SB, you are now a Sergeant at the 12th Precinct, who for some reason, can't stand Josh Davidson. Go figure.**


	3. Chapter 3

Murphy Was An Optimist

by RGoodfellow64

Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: Yeah, right. Snowball, meet (insert hot place here).

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**Mini Authors Note: **Man you guys are tough! First review right off the bat wanted more. Then the rest of you who reviewed said the same and my brain started to percolate. Hope you like it.

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Rick sat behind his desk, looking around his 'office' underneath the Old Haunt. He really loved this spot.

He'd bought the bar on a whim, but part of him was thinking of spending time here with Beck…Kate. Yeah, Kate. Here, he could think of her as Kate. He was always so excited to share things about this place with her, well most things. The surprising two hidden cases of 1875 St. Miriam Rock of Scotland he kept to himself. His own private reserve. With how old and confusing the building plans for the bar and sewer systems were, he could say, somewhat honestly, that he wasn't quite sure that the hiding spot that held the cases belonged to him or the city. He harrumphed, inadvertently mimicking the sound made when he recalled the historian from Scotland, who informed him in no uncertain terms that there was no such thing as 'scotch' and that it was 'Scots' whiskey. 'Anyone can make a mistake,' he thought, 'and besides, here in America it's called scotch.'

He held up the glass in his hand that he brought with him from the bar and looked around through the amber liquid it still held. He'd only taken a sip in all the time he was here. Whereas he wanted to get drunk upstairs, the time spent with Lisa and Demming reminded him that he still had responsibilities, not just to his fans, but also to himself.

He sighed as he looked around the room. He had filled it with so many vintage objects; the loveseat from 1922 that he had refurbished and even helped carry down the stairs. Too bad the stairs and doorway were too small for that wonderful leather couch he found, or that great wingback chair! That reminded him of Nick and Nora Charles. He smiled, thinking of The Thin Man, and looked around at his own fortress of solitude. The staff knew about this room, as did Kate and the team…and of course Alexis, but to the rest of the world it didn't exist. His official office was upstairs, in the back of the bar. Desk, phone, computer, everything the modern office should have, not the warmth and history that radiated in this room.

The old furniture and accessories. The old hand made doilies under that beautiful globed lamp on the table by the loveseat, and the vintage Tiffany style on his desk, or the antique phone he had re-wired to work with modern plugs. The darn thing is _heavy_! No wonder people were knocked unconscious when they were hit with one in the old movies.

He loved the hidden door behind the newly finished coat closet that led to the catacomb like depths of the sewers. He was slowly adding lights to the area surrounding his bar…just in case, of course. He smiled; it was starting to look just like the Bat Cave.

That brought to mind the sight of Kate, the first time she stood in his office in the loft, 'a little over two years ago, now,' he thought.

He looked at the ceiling, the old tin shining like new again after restoration, and was thankful that nothing from upstairs, not a single sound, permeated to his refuge. He really didn't need to hear how happy everyone was upstairs, although Motorcycle boy didn't show much happiness on his face the last time Rick saw him at the bar.

He sighed and looked at the door leading up to the bar through the glass in his hand. Slightly skewed and the amber light seemed almost rosy. Is that how he sees things with Kate, through a rose-colored glass? Seeing their relationship, because to him, that's what it was, slightly skewed by his vision?

He sighed again and took another sip, then looked at her photo. He promised her Always…he just hadn't thought Always would be so damn hard.

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Josh was angry. 'She broke up with me!?' Josh thought in shock. 'I stayed in NY for her! I stopped my Doctors Without Borders work for her! That work alone is usually worth an extra few thousand dollars a year in salary! Hospitals love advertising how their doctors donate time to underprivileged or disaster ravaged communities! What the hell? She just got up and walked away!'

He looked outside the booth but couldn't see her. 'Too many cops in the way,' he thought. He quickly drained his glass and got up from the booth. Castle's damn private booth, and suddenly stopped. 'That's where she is, with _him_!' His eyes narrowed as he decided that they were going to have it out, one way or another, tonight. No way was she going to break up with him! Nobody breaks up with him, not since he was twelve. He was always the one to break things off and with Kate he actually thought they'd go the distance. Giving up Doctors Without Borders, he joined a practice with some other cardiologists from the hospital. He thought he was ready to settle down, get married, and Kate, well she was hot, they looked good as a couple; everyone said so. He could live with her weird hours and the ridiculous sense of responsibility she held for her victims, although why dead people needed that was beyond him.

He started walking, following the direction Kate had taken. When they'd walked to the booth earlier, he noticed there was a door near the restrooms with a sign that said "Office" on it. He was sure that's where she was, with Castle. He could put up with a lot from Kate but Castle wasn't anything he wanted to or was willing to compromise about. He needed to fix this, get her back with him where she belongs and kick Castle out of their life.

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Their order arrived and Tom and Lisa dug into the finger food she'd wanted. Just something to 'nosh on' she said, she was too excited having just met her favorite author.

Tom found himself enjoying their evening, what had bothered him earlier didn't seem so bad now. Sure, he still didn't like Castle, but at least Castle didn't let Lisa know anything about their past meetings, and the fact that her boyfriend knew Richard Castle raised him up in her eyes.

'This could actually turn out to be a good night', he thought to himself as Lisa smiled at him again.

"…which you can do, can't you?" Demming suddenly caught the end of Lisa's words. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard what she said, but he immediately knew the right answer to whatever her question was, "Of course," he replied with a smile.

Lisa smiled back and her eyes shone with delight. "You're so sweet," she said to him. Then she looked down for a moment before looking back at Tom, "I don't know if I have a box big enough to carry all my books, maybe we should stop at a grocery store and see if they have one?"

Tom nodded but thought to himself, 'Right. Books. All of them.' Then he sighed to himself, she had every single book Castle ever published, and every one was hardcover. 'Good thing I still go to the gym,' he thought, then added, 'whoa, that's going to be _heavy_!'

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Kate stood at the small landing as she quietly closed the door in the floor behind her. She smiled when she recalled Castle's glee whenever he said those words, as he loved that phrase and would always start rhyming like Dr. Seuss; then she thought of how proud he was the day he found that autographed photo of Dr. Seuss on line, which he put on the wall by his own photo after it arrived. She thought he was playing a game on his phone until he suddenly shoved it in front of her to show her the photo he'd just purchased.

She moved slightly on the small landing then took her first step down. Slowly, as each step seemed like the beginning of something new. As she got closer to the door at the bottom, the third step on the wooden stair creaked and she smiled again as she remembered the debate they had over whether to carpet the stairs or not, and how they came to the final decision…

"_Castle, if a cold blooded killer, no, make that a CIA assassin came down the stairs to kill you, how would you know if the stairs were carpeted?"_

_The smile on his face pretty much said it all, she had taken his own logic, his own imagination and used it in defense of her position. She could literally see the light shine from his eyes, and she knew, she absolutely knew, there was a lot more there than simple delight in her speech._

_After a while, she realized they were gazing into each other's eyes again and she forced herself to say, "Castle! Focus! Stairs?"_

_He shook himself and said, "Ok, no carpeting, but I really do need to fix the stairs and make them safe."_

_She nodded her head, "Alright, but make sure to leave the squeaks in there. What kind of a creepy old basement stairway would it be without the creaks?"_

_His face beamed as she said that, but it was too much for her to handle so she said, "Come on, Castle, it's almost lunchtime and I'm getting hungry."_

_He waved his hand towards the stairs that led up to the bar and gallantly said, "After you, detective."_

Kate took a deep breath and continued down the stairs to the door of Cas…no, Rick's, office.

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"She left?" Josh asked in confusion, he had been sure she was with Castle in his office, but as the waitress with the stupid name Mony showed him, it was empty.

"Well," Esposito replied, "She was heading to the door, didn't say much to us at all…"

"Yeah, she just waved her hand and said, 'not now, Javi', without even looking at us," Ryan chimed in.

"Uh huh, and then continued walking to the door. When I turned around from my beer, she was gone," Esposito finished.

Josh nodded his head; maybe she realized breaking up with him wasn't such a good idea and left to think things over. She probably went home; he took his phone out to give her a call but frowned when she declined it. 'I guess she's still thinking it over', he thought to himself. He put the phone away and decided to head to her apartment. She may not have given him a key but he could knock on her door till she let him in.

He nodded to Esposito and Ryan, "Thanks, guys. See you around," and then headed towards the door.

"Not likely," Esposito said softly and then he and Ryan exchanged a fist bump as Josh left the Old Haunt.

"I just hope they don't screw this up," Ryan said as he reached for his beer.

"Yeah," Esposito answered. "Wanna play some darts?" he asked.

"I thought you didn't understand how to keep score," Ryan said with a frown.

"Hey, I think I'm learning," Esposito replied. "And besides, you wouldn't cheat me," he added as he picked up his beer and headed towards the dartboard.

Ryan picked up his own beer and followed, "Don't bet on that," he mumbled to himself, then smiled as Javi pulled the darts from the board and erased the previous scores on the chalkboard beside it.

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Rick found himself still staring at her photo on his phone, wondering what he was going to do. He knew he'd still be there, still follow her, but tonight was just too raw. It would be best not to come in tomorrow, maybe he can tell her that he has to write, to have at least a day to give himself a little space and time for the hurt to scab over.

He snorted, since last spring it felt that quite a few scabs had formed.

He heard footsteps on the stairs, lighter tread than Jerry or Ed so it must be Mony. Hearing the creak on the third step from the bottom reminded him of the discussion with Kate about carpeting. He was smiling at the memory when the door opened.

Without looking up from his desk he said, "You can just leave the popcorn on the table, Mony."

"I didn't bring any popcorn…just me," Kate said.

Castle looked up from his desk in surprise, "Ka…Beckett! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted," she paused then started again, "I thought," she paused again and he realized that she seemed unsure, nervous, which wasn't like her at all, and seeing her standing there, her hand clutching the handle of the door, Rick thought she looked somehow smaller than she was, despite those crazy heels she was wearing.

He shook his head, "Beckett, isn't there someplace else you'd rather be…"

"Kate," she corrected, interrupting him.

"…like upstairs with your, huh?"

"Kate, not Beckett. I like it when you call me Kate."

He stared at her, not really comprehending what was happening so she took the opportunity and quietly shut the door behind her and walked up to him. When she was standing in front of his desk she said, "Rick, I think…"

Her phone rang; of course it did. She couldn't believe this was happening again as she took it out of her pocket and Castle saw from the display that it was Josh calling her. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic. Every time they tried to talk, every time, something, or someone interrupted. Rick knew it was the Universe at work, and he really didn't feel like fighting it anymore. A part of Rick was angry with himself for having a special booster installed in the basement so he could receive cellular calls, but the rest of him just felt like giving up.

Kate saw the look on his face and it broke her heart. Damn Josh anyway! She held up the still ringing phone and said, "Rick, please watch." When he didn't respond she added, "Please?"

Her voice sounded so plaintive that he looked back at her and watched as first, she declined the call, then went into her contact list and set Josh's number to be blocked. Finally, she highlighted his contact information and hit the delete key. In a second, it was gone.

She then turned her phone off and placed it on the desk. "Now," she said, "No more interruptions."

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"There he goes," Jerry said to Ed as the two bartenders watched Josh leave the bar.

"Good riddance," Mony said, standing near them as she waited for Ed to finish pouring her orders. "That guy is a real piece of work."

"He was looking for Det. Beckett and the boss?" Ed asked as he topped off another pitcher of beer.

"Yeah, demanded I open the office door and was surprised when he saw it was empty."

"Smart of the boss to put a phony office up here," Jerry commented.

"Uh huh," Ed agreed as he place a couple pitchers on Mony's tray. "Keeps the riff raff from bothering him downstairs."

Picking up her tray Mony said, "I think it's more for his mom and that harpy publisher he has," she looked back to the door where Josh had just exited, "But it sure worked well now."

She picked up her tray and headed to the table where the officers from Vice were sitting. They always tipped well.

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He was staring at her phone. The phone that she turned off. The phone that she blocked and then deleted DMB from. The phone…

"Rick?"

He looked up, still somewhat in shock at what she just did. "Rick?" she said softly again, "Can we talk?"

"Talk?" he asked, seemingly unable to articulate sentences any more.

Kate nodded her head, "Yeah, talk." She nodded her head away from the desk to the opposite wall, "Can we go over to the couch?"

His eyes still wide and his expression somewhat pole axed, he nodded his head, got up from his chair and followed her to the couch. He didn't dare think of it as a love seat, not now.

Kate sat down and watched as Rick, she was going to think of him tonight as Rick, had some sort of internal dialog before he finally sat down next to her. The ball was in her court; she came to him and made it clear that she wanted to talk by deleting Josh in front of him. She just didn't know how to start, how to say what she wanted to say without it coming out like verbal diarrhea. There was so much she wanted to say to him.

She was looking at him, wondering how to start when he spoke, "So…Kate. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes. Yes I…" she stopped. 'How do I tell him how sorry I am, how I made such a mess of things and how much I wish I never heard of Tom or Josh? What can I say to show him that I wish things were different with us, that I _want_ things to be different with us,' she thought to herself, while still looking at him.

"Kate?" he prompted.

"I'm sorry…but, I'm not sorry about what happened upstairs," she finally blurted out.

He sighed, "Beck…"

"Kate, Rick. Kate."

"Ok," he said. Then started again, "Kate, it wasn't your fault, if anything I…"

She shook her head and he stopped. This wasn't his fault and here he was taking the blame once again. This is her mess, and she's the one who has to own it, she just didn't know…then it came to her. Thinking how he would say it, she blurted out "I want a do over."

"A what?"

Having gotten that out somehow quieted her thoughts although her heart was now racing, she had started though, so she responded more calmly but with determination to tell him what she wanted to say, "I want a do over, and I hope…think…I'm pretty sure based on that amazing kiss that you'd like one too."

"What?"

"That was the most amazing kiss I ever had Rick. _Ever!_" She paused and seemed a little out of breath when she continued, "I tried to push it away, like I used Josh to push you away, but I gotta tell you that nothing could have prepared me for what I felt…what I feel, when I think about that kiss."

"Yeah?"

Kate nodded her head, "Oh yeah…and I think about it a lot."

Rick was shocked. What the heck was happening? Did the world turn upside down while he was sitting here? Beckett…Kate, here, wanting to talk, _deleting_ DMB from her phone and now talking about The Kiss? Because in his mind he always capitalized those two words. Every time he looked at her lips, he remembered how they felt, the taste of her, and the passion that erupted when she kissed him back, and he just found out she thinks about it. A lot.

"You do?" he asked in a quiet tone.

She arched her eyebrow; things were starting to feel somewhat normal again, "What?" she asked. "You don't think about it?"

His eyes crinkled and he said, "Every night and sometimes twice on Sunday."

At her quizzical look he added, "I sometimes take a nap on Sunday's."

She smiled; it was good to know he dreamed of her since she definitely dreamed of him.

Kate took a deep breath and said, "That was truly the most amazing kiss I ever had, Rick. Really. I know it started as a ruse to convince the guard but damn, it was _good_."

"It was amazing, Kate."

She giggled. She honest to God giggled and he couldn't believe it. It was such a sweet sound and he wondered why he never heard it before, but he knew he definitely wanted to hear it again. And again and again and again!

"I know," she said after the giggle. "I remember you telling me so."

His continence changed and he was serious again. "If it was so amazing, if you keep thinking about it so much, then why? Why Josh?"

She wanted to reply and thought of how to say the words but he continued and his voice was deeper, and she could hear the hurt in it. "We almost died in that freezer, Kate. Lanie commented that you might have died if I hadn't held you as I did. And I'm pretty sure I know what you tried to say to me before you passed out from the cold."

Kate only nodded her head and let him continue. "Yet when I woke up there's Josh, telling me that this is gonna hurt, and it sure did, Kate. Just not the way he may have meant it at the time."

"Rick, I'm…"

"You know, after you walked over to him, the way you two were looking at each other, even Agent Fallon could see you two were in love."

Kate shook her head, no. No, he mustn't think it was love. It was never love with Josh.

"Then after the dirty bomb he came along, wrapped you in his arms and you melted against him." He shook his head as if trying to remove that scene from his mind.

Kate felt tears form in her eyes; she had hurt him so badly. Far more than she ever knew. This is the man who put himself in harm's way to help her apprehend an African war criminal with only a bottle of champagne. The man who put up a hundred thousand dollars just on the chance of helping find the man who killed her mother; who ran into a burning building, stopped a hit man…the images kept marching through her mind of what this unselfish man had done for her and how she repaid him.

He sighed again and ran his hand through his hair, "Seeing Josh upstairs with you, and then Demming there, well it brought back things I'd rather not think about, Kate." He sighed again and with a voice that felt lost said, "Maybe you should go back up to Josh, Kate."

As he began to get up from the couch she yelled out, "No!" then grabbed his arm and forced him to sit down again. She shook her head and the first tear fell from her left eye. Not just a tear of sorrow or sadness but also of frustration. Frustration at herself and for the mess she made.

"There is no Josh upstairs waiting for me, Rick. And even if he's still up there, I have no intention of ever going to him again."

"I…"

Kate put two fingers on his mouth and said, "Shhh. Let me talk, Rick. Let me speak. Then when I'm done, you can have your turn…please?"

That last word held such hope and fear in it that he could only nod in acquiescence and let her proceed.

"I said that I'm sorry and at the same time I'm not sorry about what happened upstairs, so let's start there." At his nod she continued, "I am so sorry, so very sorry that you had to sit through all that crap with my exes. I could see the hurt when Josh and Tom were speaking and I felt ashamed that you had to go through that."

He really hadn't heard much of what she said because his hearing stopped at the one word that screamed out at him, exes. Josh was an ex? Sure, she deleted his information and blocked his call, but he thought it was just a gesture to get his attention. It was something he would do.

Kate could see that he wasn't listening anymore, "Rick?"

He looked at her and said, "Exes?"

She smiled at him and nodded her head, "Yep. Exes. Two of them. May I continue?"

With a slight smile, he nodded back. "I am _not_ sorry for what happened after you left, because I finally opened my eyes to what a mess I've made of things, and how my actions, my stupid, stupid actions, have hurt you."

"Kate,"

She put up her hand, "I'm talking now, and don't worry, you'll get your turn."

He nodded his head again and she said, "Let's go back to that amazing kiss. It's something I want to revisit over and over."

His eyes seemed to clear a bit so she continued, "When you kissed me I knew it was more than a ruse, there was no way I couldn't feel the emotion you put in that kiss. It's why I kissed you back, why I really wanted to devour your lips and just keep on kissing you. At that time I really, really didn't like that damn guard and that's probably why I hit him as hard as I did."

His smile widened, "You did?"

"Yeah," she felt herself blush. "Montgomery told me later that I'd given the guy a concussion." She couldn't believe she was blushing now. She told him how much she loved the kiss, how much she wanted to do it again and she blushes thinking about kicking that guard in the head?

"Anyway, I knew then and there that you had real feelings for me. You weren't just flirting because it's what we do; you were flirting because it was the only way to tell me how you felt without my saying or doing something stupid."

He looked like he was about to speak and she shook her head again. "Don't, I know I'm right. I know how you were feeling because I feel it too."

"But…but what about Josh?"

"Yeah, Josh. Rick, I'm not a cheater, never have been, that I know of, but when you kissed me I didn't even know he existed. All I wanted was more of you, which is probably why I hit the guard so hard." She chuckled, "There were so many other places I'd rather be kissing you than in that ally."

There was a brief pause before she continued, "But that's also the reason I never spoke about the kiss, and why I stayed with Josh even though I never should have dated him in the first place."

"I don't understand."

"You, Rick. You're the reason."

Rick was confused…he was the reason? What the heck was she talking about?

Seeing the confusion on his face Kate said, "I said I'm not a cheater, yet even that made me feel guilty since I was seeing Josh but wanted to be with you and it made me feel as if I was cheating on him."

"And this is my fault how?"

Kate shook her head and with a sad smile replied, "Don't try to understand my illogical logic on this Rick, just know that's how I felt. Which made me feel that I needed to work harder to not feel like I was cheating on Josh and that's why I did the things I did."

"But…"

"I planned to break up with him before the bomb scare since he was going to go away to Haiti with Doctors Without Borders; but after our argument and my non response when he came to the precinct to mend things, he quit the program and stayed. In my misguided feelings, I thought since he did that for me, I should give him another chance. A chance that he never really deserved."

Kate could see the confusion on Rick's face turn again and she didn't want him angry, but he asked, "What about one foot out the door? Just because he didn't go to Haiti you decided to stay with him _after_ you decided to break up with him?" He shook his head, "I don't buy that Kate, you didn't decide to break up with him just because of Doctors Without Borders. There had to be more to it than that, which negates your reason for staying with him."

Kate looked down at her hands for about a minute. A minute of silence that was only interrupted by the sound of their breathing. She finally lifted her head to see him looking intently at her. "Richard Castle, you scare the hell out of me."

He sat back and his eyes widened in surprise. That was definitely something he never expected to hear from her.

He tilted his head, eyes still locked with hers and simply said, "Please explain."

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"Hey, wait a minute! That's not the right score!" Esposito said as he watched Ryan tally up the points.

Ryan turned to look at his partner, "Sure it is. This is part of score keeping that you just haven't mastered yet."

"I've mastered enough to know when you're cheating."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

Esposito went up to the chalkboard then looked at the darts still in the dartboard and began to explain, in great detail, exactly how to score those points. When he was done Ryan said, "Next time we go to a bar other than here, you're buying! As a matter of fact, it's gonna be your treat for the next month!"

"What do you…?" Esposito stopped. He had been conning Ryan for weeks now, making him think he didn't know how to play darts when all the while he did. Now he was caught. "Do coffee's count?" he asked.

"Nope," Ryan said with a wicked grin, I want the best Irish whiskey they have." He poked Esposito in the chest with his left forefinger and added, "This one's gonna cost you, bro."

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Kate took a deep breath. This was it. This was where she bared her soul and opened up for the first time in her life. She was frightened, she was nervous, she was about to open herself up and give someone the possibility of truly crushing her. But she looked into his eyes and knew that if there was any one place on this planet she would be safe, any one person she could trust to keep her that way, it was right here with Rick. Anywhere with him, actually, because he was the one she felt safe with.

"You look at me and see Nikki Heat," as he started to shake his head she stopped him and said, "Let me amend that, you look at me and see the person you modeled Nikki Heat after. Is that ok?"

"Yes, but…"

"Nope, still my turn. You modeled Nikki Heat after me but Rick, I've read the books and I see how you look at her and through that, how you look at me. You think of her, and you think of me as this brave, kick-ass, amazing detective, but I'm not."

He shook his head, her tone of voice showing how emotional this was for her, the crack in her voice as she said she wasn't all the things he knew her to be only verified to him how wrong she was.

"Give me my gun and a perp and my training kicks in. I am a damn good detective, Rick. I have worked for years to get myself to that point, but emotionally…" she paused and took another breath, "Emotionally I'm a mess and a coward. I run away."

She stopped and had to catch her breath. She knew this wouldn't be easy and it was proving to be harder than she thought, but he deserved this. He deserved to know that even though she was a mess, she was his mess, and had been for over a year now, regardless of who she hid behind.

Rick let her calm down, he knew if he tried to talk, tried to change her mind, she would just dig in her heels and fight him all the way. He knew her enough to let her get all this out of her system, and he had to admit, he needed to know this. He needed to know why.

"Part of me looks for what I want and need; the two are really the same. However, another part of me doesn't want to commit to that, doesn't want to open myself up to hurt, to possible rejection, to being discarded."

Kate looked at Rick and saw that he still didn't understand, she was determined that before she left he would know everything. "You have the power to destroy me, Rick. I need you so much in my life that even the thought of you not there frightens me beyond belief. You have no idea how horrible last summer was without you."

"But you had Demming," Rick answered in confusion. How could he have this much power over her when she has so much over him? Don't his scars prove that? How could last summer be hell for her when she was with…wait a minute. Upstairs Demming said he broke off with Kate before they went away.

As he was thinking about Demming, Kate said, "I broke up with him the day of your party. I knew that he wasn't who I wanted…_you_ are the one I wanted, so I brought my bag into the precinct that day; I was going to ask if you still wanted me to go with you to the Hamptons for the weekend, but before I could, Gina showed up, and walked out with you on her arm."

"Wow," he quietly said.

"I was devastated, Rick. I felt that I opened myself up only to be stepped on…"

"But how was I to know that?" he asked.

"You couldn't, Rick. That's on me."

"Every time I looked out at the ocean all I could see was you and Demming making out on the beach, like the scene in From Here to Eternity that Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr made famous."

It was both comical how his mind worked and heartbreaking at the same time. "Oh no, Rick. No, no, I spent the summer working extra hours, trying to keep thoughts of you and Gina out of my mind."

"Damn, we're pathetic," he said to himself, but loud enough for Kate to hear.

He looked back at her, "But that doesn't answer why you went with Demming when you say you wanted to be with me."

"Do you agree that I'm a good detective?"

"Yes."

"I gather the facts and build the case, right?"

"Right."

"Not with you."

His eyebrows scrunched down as his face showed his confusion, "I don't…"

"You were a smart-aleck, insufferable pain in the ass when I met you, and you know you were," she softened that with a smile.

He nodded his head with a slight smile of his own and she continued, "You had a Page 6 reputation and you never tried to make us think any different, remember the 'Deep Fried Twinkie?'"

Rick actually winced but he nodded his head that he did remember.

"Yet at the same time you were showing me there was more to you, much more, that you hid from people, and little by little I saw glimpses of that, mostly when it involved Alexis." Kate paused to enjoy the soft look that came over his face when she mentioned his daughter's name.

"There was proof, Rick. Facts. Just what I would put on the board and use to build a case and yet in every instance with you, I completely over-looked them or rejected them outright. Then you proved your Page 6 reputation to me by sleeping with that actress and I knew I couldn't trust you with my heart."

She looked at him and her eyes softened, "You were already breaking it by then."

"And Tom?"

"A place to hide. Someone to use to keep my heart from you. I know you don't like him, Rick, but he is a good guy. He's a good detective and he cares for people…not so much you though."

Rick gave a sideways smile, "Yeah, well, feeling is mutual."

"But no matter how much I tried to push you away and hide behind Tom, I still felt strongly for you. I was fooling myself with Tom and only realized how much I was when you said you were leaving and that the Spy Ventures case would be your last."

Her eyes relived her pain as she spoke, "Oh God, Rick, I wanted to crawl into a hole and cover myself up, never to come out again. I thought I'd fixed it so you couldn't hurt me and I only made it worse." Kate paused and put her hand on Rick's arm, "I lied to you Rick. I was dishonest and hurtful and I am so very, very sorry; I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Rick put his hand on Kate's and squeezed it lightly. "I already have, Kate." As she smiled at him he asked, "And Josh?"

"You came back. Last Fall, you came back but you were still with Gina. I was so happy to see you and hurt at the same time and did everything I could to not let you see how much you affected me."

Rick nodded his head and kept his hand on Kate's, she gave his arm a little squeeze and said, "So when I met Josh, despite part of me not wanting to get into a relationship, I also felt that if you had one, I better have one too, if only to show you that someone wanted me."

"Kate…"

"I know, it's that illogical logic of mine again, but I was a mess then, my emotions all over the place and in a way, Josh took advantage of that since he thought I had just ended a relationship."

"And did you just end one tonight?"

Kate smiled, "Oh yeah, I sure did. And again, it's because of you."

"Me, huh?" he asked with a smile.

Kate's smile widened, "Yep. I was thinking how much I didn't enjoy being with Josh, then remembered what a great relationship my parents had and my eyes immediately went to your photo on the wall behind Josh."

"Ahh."

"Yeah, ahh. I realized exactly what I wanted, and wished I could go back in time to last spring and give you the correct answer to your question about the Hamptons."

Rick's smile widened, "Really?"

"Yeah, really. Rick, upstairs I saw Tom and Josh acting like idiots, trying to find clues to something that didn't exist. I felt myself becoming more and more upset and embarrassed by the second…"

"Mortified," Rick interrupted.

"Huh?"

"I thought you looked and felt mortified," he explained.

Kate thought for a moment and said, "Good word. I'll use it. I was mortified by what was happening and then you did what you do so well, you saved me."

Now it was his turn, "Huh?"

"You saved me."

"I saved you?"

Kate smiled and she squeezed his arm, "You have been saving me for so long Rick, I can't even begin to tell you. But you have, and you do. You're the type of person I dreamed of as a little girl that I'd meet and marry when I grew up. You may have a bad boy persona, but inside you're freaking Prince Charming and me? Hell, I'm not sure who I am but I know I'm not a princess."

"Kate…"

"No, Rick, let me finish."

"Ok but keep this in mind while you do."

"What's that?"

"You are to me."

Her eyes began to tear and she let them fall. He deserved to know how he affected her. He deserved to know her emotions, to see them all, not just Detective Beckett. He deserved to know Kate, and she hoped he'd give her the chance to show him.

"I have acted as if you weren't good enough for me, Rick, but the truth is, you are so far above me that I have to strain my neck to see you."

"Kate…"

"Rick…"

"Nope, my turn now." He looked intently into her eyes until she lowered them and nodded her head. "No one is above the other, not with us. I'm your partner, Kate. Your _partner_. I am not above you and you are not above me, we stand side by side. Equal. Partners."

She watched him intently then said, "I do want you for my partner, Rick, but not just at the precinct. I want there to be an Us, Rick. I do want that, so much."

He'd longed for those words, despairing he would ever hear them. They were magical and their power made him almost giddy with happiness. He gazed into her eyes, she never moved them from his, and in a low, soft voice asked, "Really, Kate?"

Her eyes sparkled with the residue of tears and the happiness she felt, "Really, Rick."

His eyes twinkled and suddenly with a mischievous look, he raised his right hand and stuck out his finger, "Pinky promise?" he asked with a grin.

She chuckled, "You are such a dork, yeah, Pinky Promise," then she lifted her right hand and intertwined her pinky finger with his, their eyes never leaving each other and they both slowly moved forward till their lips touched and they kissed. It was just a touch at first that grew quickly to more, a sweet little peck that suddenly blazed as their lips met and met again.

When they pulled back she said, "Wow." At the same time he said, "Is it getting hot in here?"

A mischievous smile came on Kate as she recalled the first time she walked into the Old Haunt with Rick, 'Why not,' she thought, then her eyes danced as she said, "Maybe you should pop another button, Rick."

He chuckled at the same memory and his eyes smiled with hers just before closing as they leaned towards each other for another kiss.

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Four hours later the police were called to Kate's apartment building with complaints about a strange man loitering in the hallway that occasionally yelled and pounded on one of the apartment doors. The officers from the 8th Precinct who arrived, upon finding the apartment belonged to a detective at the 12th Precinct, promptly arrested him on suspicion of intent to harm a police officer.

Dr. Joshua Davidson is scheduled to appear before a judge for posting bail at 10am tomorrow morning.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: This was starting to get long and I thought it would be best to split it up. I don't think I do well with long chapters, despite how much I like to read them. I'm not kiwiOCD you know, he can pull it off, but my lovely bride thought it wasn't too long when I finished, so you get the end, the real end, in this final chapter.**

**Something we haven't seen on the show is Kate fully opening up to Rick. He deserved to see her tears, to hear her cry, to feel the pain and understand why she did what she did. It makes it more believable that she would start the evening dating one man and end it dating another, him. Rick need to know that she really did love him, it wasn't just another one foot out the door relationship. I hope I gave plausible explanation for her actions and his response to them. Just because a person feels pain doesn't give them a free pass, which is why Rick called Kate on it a few times. **


	4. Epilogue

Murphy Was An Optimist

by RGoodfellow64

Epilogue

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Disclaimer: See the other chapters.

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Mini-Authors Note: I know, I know, this was supposed to be finished but…well read the authors note at the end.

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This was the best morning that Kate could remember, despite the last minute demands from the DA's office looking for more details on a case from almost a year ago. She had hardly slept at all last night but felt more refreshed than she has in months and it was all because of what she and the man sitting next to her did…talk. Honestly. Openly. Truthfully, which was a very difficult thing for Kate to do. Even before her mother's death, Kate held things close to herself. In high school and at Stanford, people thought she was open and friendly, but she held most of herself off from everyone. Her mother's death just intensified what was already there.

She snuck another glance at Ric…Castle. She had to remember to think of him as Castle when they were a work now, which she discovered was harder to do than she thought. Her eyes immediately went to his lips and she had to hold herself back once again from asking him to join her in the conference room. Damn those lips were addictive! She'd really had no idea, even after that amazing kiss to save Ryan and Espo, the kisses last night made her wish that the couch they sat on was much larger than it was…although being a loveseat it ensured they sat close to each other…very close.

Naturally, as she was thinking of that and blushing, he had to look up at her. However, it was a soft smile, as if he knew what she was thinking and was thinking it too. The little laugh lines on the side of his face deepened as his eyes held hers.

"Ahem!" The sound came from the direction of Esposito's desk.

"Make that a double, ahem," Ryan added as Kate and Rick turned to look at the two detectives.

Esposito's eyes narrowed and he waved his right forefinger between Beckett and Castle, "Are you sure nothing happened other than talking down there last night?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "There's a lot more eye sex going on than normal."

Kate rolled her eyes as Castle said, "Guys, we talked," he paused and continued, "And really, Ryan, eye sex?" He shook his head and went back to looking at his phone. Kate shook her head as well and looked back at the papers on her desk but her mind was on what had already happened today.

_She was at her desk by 5:30 in the morning after getting home at 1:30 when she left Rick at the Old Haunt. Everyone else had called it a night long before, and Rick called a car service to make sure she got home safely since she'd arrived by taxi. She smiled at his words, "Don't say it again, Kate. I'm the boyfriend now and no matter how you got here it's my responsibility to make sure you get home safely." He paused and added, "My mother would be so proud to know I remembered that."_

_As the driver held the door open for her, Kate turned and kissed Rick one more time, "I prefer 'Partner' to boyfriend, sounds more mature and grown up."_

_He gave her a quick hug and stepped back as she entered the town car. "I think I like that too." Suddenly his eyes lit up and he said, "Ooo, I have to get you your own laser tag system so you can help me beat Alexis!"_

"_Did I say grown up?" Kate asked, with a smile. "Must have been someone else I was talking about."_

_Rick smiled back and said, "Let me know when you're in your apartment." Kate recalled the texts that flew back and forth between them after she left Rick at the bar, and before she finally had to end the conversation to get some sleep._

_As she was leaving for work that morning, she met Mr. Hooper, a neighbor from the first floor who was just coming in from walking his dog. "Big doings here last night," he told her while trying to keep the dog from jumping on Kate._

"_Oh? What happened?"_

"_Some crazy guy managed to get in the building and was knocking on doors and yelling in the hallways till the police took him away." He paused a moment and said, "Maybe he was on drugs. Too bad you weren't home; you could have arrested him yourself."_

_Kate smiled, "I'm glad I wasn't, I still would have had to call it in since we don't live in my jurisdiction." At his confused look Kate added, "I work out of the 12th Precinct and we live in the 8th Precinct's district."_

_Mr. Hooper shook his head, "Ah well, we had some excitement for a while anyway," he said before waving and wishing Kate a nice day. Kate thought about what he said. She took this apartment with the idea that living in a building filled with mostly retired people would be quieter, and so far it was, but maybe if things like what Mr. Hooper was talking about kept happening, she'd have to move again. Shrugging her shoulders, she headed to the subway to get to work._

Sitting at her desk, Kate turned her head and looked at the Captain's office and smiled again, thinking about her conversation with him when he arrived this morning.

_She was going through the NYPD policy's for any information about working partners being in a romantic relationship when Capt. Montgomery came off the elevator and stopped in front of her, "Beckett? Why are you here so early? You finished the case last night."_

_Kate looked up from her computer and said, "Just doing some research, Captain." She paused a moment then added, "May I speak to you sir…privately?"_

_With a puzzled look, he agreed and led her into his office where he closed the door behind her before sitting at his desk. "What do you want to talk to me about, Kate?" he asked._

_Kate sat straight in her chair and tried to project professionalism but when she started to speak her voice cracked and she had to clear her throat before she started again, "Sir, uhhh, I was, um, I was looking over NYPD policy and I want to ask you a question."_

_Montgomery looked surprised as Kate seemed flustered, but nodded his head for her to continue, "Um, well Sir, uhhh, that is I…" she took a breath and then in a rush asked, "If one partner isn't actually a member of the NYPD, is the no fraternization policy between working partners still valid if they become romantically involved?"_

_Montgomery held back a smile at the nervousness of his top detective. He actually thought it was cute the way she was acting and it reminded him of his own daughters, neither of whom would date until they're at least forty years old. He knew Kate was talking about herself but he had to drag this out for fun just a bit so he kept a straight face and asked, "Is this a rhetorical question, Detective, or are you asking for someone else?"_

_He watched in delight as Detective Kate Beckett blushed. It was so hard to hold back his smile that he had to look down at some papers on his desk before he looked back up at her again._

"_Um…well, Sir, it's not really…I mean, I'm not asking for…uhhh…" _

_Montgomery found himself smiling, 'Damn,' he thought 'I always knew Castle was good for her!' _

_Kate saw the smile on the Captain's face and he asked, "I can assume then that you are speaking about yourself and an un-official consultant who helps you with your cases?"_

_Kate watched as Montgomery's smile widened into a delighted grin and she smiled back, still blushing, "Yes, sir, you can."_

"_When did this take place, Kate?"_

"_Uh, last night, sir," she replied._

"_Damn!"_

"_Sir?"_

"_I was off by almost two months!" Montgomery explained._

"_Sir?"_

_He shook his head, "Nothing, Kate. For the record, there is no policy that covers romance between a member of the NYPD and a private citizen, even if said citizen volunteers his time to work with the NYPD."_

_Montgomery watched as Kate's face bloomed into a huge smile. "Thank you sir!" she said, but stopped speaking as he raised his hand, "Just make sure you both keep the romance outside the precinct, Kate."_

_She was nodding her head so quickly that he worried it might come off her neck, "Don't worry, sir, we will. No one will even know that we're dating."_

_Montgomery shook his head, "Kate, everyone already thinks you two are together. Just keep it to a minimum and I'll have no problem."_

Kate's mind left the memory as her cell phone pinged; when she picked it up, she saw a message from Rick, "When do you want to tell everyone?"

Kate motioned to him and he leaned forward as she whispered, "Lanie first. If she doesn't hear before the boys she'll kill us both."

Before he could respond a loud "Ahem! Ahem!" came from Esposito's desk.

"Geez, guys!" Rick said as he pulled back from Kate, while she said, "I wonder if we need any dumpsters checked out?"

Rick picked up the empty coffee cup by her phone and asked, "Refill?"

"I'd love one, thanks," she replied as he got up from his chair and headed to the break room. It was only a few minutes before 10am and she had already finished the first cup of coffee and the bear claw he'd brought for her when he came in at his usual 9am.

Kate returned to her paperwork and enjoyed the cup of coffee Rick brought to her, especially the little heart he arranged on the top of the coffee with milk. They then continued as normal, Beckett working at her desk and Castle working on his phone, the occasional beep or whistle informing everyone that he was winning the game.

The morning seemed to drag but by 10:50 am, she finally finished getting all the information requested by the DA's office. Kate looked at Rick with a smile and was about to speak when her phone rang. She shrugged her shoulders, picked up her desk phone, answered with "Beckett!" and listened for a moment. "Wait a minute! What?" she said into the phone.

Rick looked at her, as did Esposito and Ryan, "Why do I care that your credit cards are maxed out?" She paused a moment "What do you mean, bail?" she asked.

Rick leaned forward to try to hear who was on the other end of the line as Esposito and Ryan came over to stand in front of her desk.

"Why would you need…" Kate stopped and listened before she raised her voice, "Arrested! Why were you arres…"

Now all three men were leaning towards Kate, trying to hear who was on the line that made her so upset.

"At my place?" her voice was even louder, which made other officers look towards her desk. Castle got up and tried to put his ear next to her phone but she waved him away, "What do you mean…are you the idiot who was knocking on doors and scaring my neighbors?"

Ryan, Esposito and Castle all moved back as they saw the angry look on Kate's face. "They're elderly! What the hell were you thinking?" she yelled into the phone. She listened a moment then said in the same tone of voice, "I thought I made things perfectly clear last night, we are over! I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear you and I have absolutely no intention of paying your bail, jackass!" she slammed the phone down on her desk, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to compose herself.

Ryan and Esposito looked at Castle who shrugged his shoulders back at them. Then they pointed their fingers at him then at Beckett, glared at Castle and mouthed the words to find out what happened. He cleared his throat and said, "Ummm…"

Kate opened her eyes and looked at Rick then back at Esposito and Ryan. She then picked up her cell phone and dialed a number, she held up her finger for silence from the men and waited a moment before speaking, "Hey Lanie, wanna grab an early lunch?" A moment later, she nodded her head and said, "Great! Meet you at Remy's," before she disconnected the call.

"Beckett?" Ryan asked, "Is everything ok?"

Beckett smiled up at him, looked at Castle then back to Ryan, "Things are great," she replied.

"Didn't sound like that to me," Esposito said, and glared at Castle for not taking charge and asking the questions.

Beckett pulled her purse out of the bottom desk drawer and got up from her chair, "Come on, we're all heading to Remy's, we'll tell you about it there."

As Castle stood up Ryan asked, "We?"

Beckett shook her head and they all headed to the elevator. As they arrived, the doors opened and they halted before stepping in as they saw Demming standing there, holding a big box that looked very heavy.

"Uh, we may be delayed a bit," Rick said as he reached for his pen.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: Ok. Now, really, this is done. I just couldn't leave it like that at the end of chapter 3, my wife absolutely wanted to know what happened with Josh and Demming. Happy wife means Happy RG, so you get this last piece of the story.**

**Why did Josh call her desk phone? She blocked his number from her cell, so he had to go old school. Also, for those who want to know, Lanie, Esposito and Ryan will find out at Remy's who won the bet…we all know it wasn't Capt. Montgomery. Oh, and speaking of Montgomery, Kate had no qualms about telling him she was dating Castle, after all, he wanted Castle there. This isn't the same situation as with Capt. Gates. Anyway, thanks for reading.**


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